‘Acknowledge bias to make progress’

#BlackLivesMatter – Beyond the Hashtag: Rob Neil OBE, director, Krystal Alliance; Evelyn Espina, global VP Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Unilever; and Sanjay Bhandari, chairman, Kick It Out

THE discrimination faced by ethnic minorities in history should be acknowledged, otherwise “we will not be able to move forward”, three senior executives said in a panel on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Rob Neil said there was a lack of education about the truth behind the slave trade and the civil rights movement in the US, arguing society had “to face up to it and repent”, otherwise progress will not be made. “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” Neil said, quoting activist James Baldwin.

Evelyn Espina added: “If we don’t know our history, we are doomed to repeat it.”

She said Unilever strived to create safe spaces for employees. “We have the responsibility to ensure people who work for us can reach their full potential so we have committed to making an inclusive culture,” she said.

The multinational consumer goods company with a product portfolio such as Ben & Jerry’s and Dove wanted all brands to be “purpose driven”.

“We want them to connect with people around issues that are important to them,” she said, noting Ben & Jerry’s latest campaigns which have supported the BLM movement.

Sanjay Bhandari, chairman of Kick It Out, spoke about the lack of Asian representation in football. “Out of 4,000 professional football players in the UK, you don’t see a single one who looks like me,” he said. “There’s a big difference between the B and the A in BAME.”

He added that industry bosses were not only looking at representation on the pitch, but also in senior leadership roles.